Change of Seasons

I hope your summer was as delightful as it was wonderful. I spent many hours in the hot kitchen but also countless hours swimming in the ocean, rivers, and lakes. Late summer is one of my favorite times to preserve and capture the last sweetness of the season. Many afternoons are spent gathering and drying the last herbs and flowers to add to vinegars and preserves for the colder months.

Working with frozen stone fruit proved to be a challenge, but I appreciated that the fruit was already pitted and ready to cook; this saved me a lot of time, and I’m grateful to the farmers for their effort. Using organically grown fruit also assured me that the taste would be the sweetest and most delectable. I’m very pleased with the results of using frozen plums and apricots, although I miss the bright color of fresh, perfectly ripened fruit that goes straight from the orchard to my jam pan without spending a moment in cold storage.
If you didn’t have the chance to try these preserves this summer, they’re available on my website and at the farmers' market. The favorites are always the plum and cardamom jam and apricot jam, but the ones I’m most fond of are the Apricot, Orange, and Ginger Jam, and the Sugar Plum and Sour Cherry Jam.



Coming up next: we’re working on making our seasonal spicy tomato jam. We sourced the most beautiful and flavorful tomatoes, organically grown in Cawston, BC, by our friend Forrest Nelson. If you visit the Trout Lake and Kitsilano markets, you’ll recognize his stall, usually filled with perfect nectarines, peaches, and other beauties. Unfortunately, like many farmers in the Okanagan, last winter’s crop was devastating, and he didn’t have any stone fruit this year, except for a few prune plums.
We’re also working on our Fire Jelly—our version of a hot pepper jelly made with organically grown cayenne peppers from Stein Mountain Farm in Lytton, BC, along with ginger and other spices in a golden apple jelly base.
Our summer vinegar, mostly made from flowers like rose petals, yarrow, lavender, lemon balm, and anise hyssop, is brewing and will be available in the coming weeks. We’re also preparing gift boxes, big and small, with a variety of combinations—jam and marmalade, vinegar, and chocolate (from Take a Fancy Bean to Bar). Vinegars and Gift Boxes will be availabe at the farmers market and on my website.
The summer farmers markets are still on until the end of October; you'll find me alternating between Trout Lake and West End on Saturdays, and Kitsilano on Sundays.



Looking ahead, the winter farmers market will start the first week of November. On Saturdays, you’ll find me at the usual location at Riley Park in Vancouver. New this year, the Sunday market that was previously held at Hastings Park will be relocated to Kitsilano. I’m not yet sure if I’ll be attending, but more details will follow soon.